


Bugatwo

by PictoJournalist



Series: AdriNath August (my favorite month of the year) [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinath August, Identity Reveal, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PictoJournalist/pseuds/PictoJournalist
Summary: For AdriNath August Day 2, Ladybug!NathanielAfter Marinette breaks her leg, she trusts the only person she knows has figured out her true identity to cover for her until she recovers. However, the night shifts are especially brutal, and Chat Noir knows how to help out.





	Bugatwo

There was only one thing he couldn’t find comfortable about being Ladybug for the next several weeks if Nathaniel were to be honest.

It wasn’t the actual crime-fighting; he could get by with that by faking it until he made it. In fact, it was much like living out his fantasies that he drew out in comics. It wasn’t the tight-fitting disguise, either, which he initially believed clung to him tighter than his own skin. Not even the constant threat of failing from inexperience and losing the Ladybug Miraculous was enough to cause him too much concern.

What he was least comfortable with was the lack of rest that came with the duty, and night patrol was currently his worst enemy.

Okay, so maybe he was a regular insomniac, but that didn’t mean he hated the concept of being able to relax in the middle of the night. Just because he couldn’t sleep sometimes didn’t mean he wanted to actively do anything. He mostly survived off midday naps and those rare, lucky nights where he could get a good night’s sleep. Today, one of the days he was scheduled to do night patrol, would have most definitely been one of those lucky days.

The key words were _would have_ , if only Marinette hadn’t been so insistent that Nathaniel was the only one capable of taking over the Ladybug role while she was out of commission.

_“You’re the only one I know who knows I’m Ladybug, and you’ve been so good at keeping it a secret,” Marinette whispered, trying to sit up as far as she could with the pillows stacked behind her and another propping up her cast-covered leg. “Tikki told me you’d be a good candidate. I trust her, and you should too.”_

_Nathaniel tried to say something, but no words came to mind each time he considered opening his mouth. It was true that he had figured out Marinette’s Ladybug identity. It was true that he’d kept it a secret. The only reason she knew is that he asked about it in private, stuttering and blushing and embarrassed, since he’d found many similarities in Marinette and Ladybug’s features through his idle sketches._

_His eyes were wide through his entire time in Marinette’s room, all the way from seeing how badly she had broken her leg to being introduced to Tikki, who was contentedly sitting on atop Marinette’s good knee. Her proposal was no exception._

_“Well, I—um…” He stared down at his hands that were anxiously kneading and fiddling with each other. His excuses came slowly while his eyebrows furrowed with his deep thinking. “The thing is, I… don’t know the first thing about combat. I mean, actually fighting people. You’re so good at it as Ladybug, and I—”_

_“Nathaniel, I broke my leg from falling down the stairs,” Marinette reminded, “and that was right after I came back from fighting. Grace doesn’t come with the Miraculous right away, no, but it’s a good head-start. Trust yourself.”_

_He continued staring down at his hands, but he stopped fidgeting with them. She made a fair point. It would only be temporary anyways. He could manage that, right? Marinette was his friend, and she’d been so kind to him even after the Evillustrator nonsense. This was the least he could do._

_Before he could voice his acceptance, his eyes flicked between Marinette and the earrings she still had on. He stopped himself again. “Hang on, my ears aren’t even pierced.”_

_Marinette groaned. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. I… think if it comes down to it, I’ve got some sharp enough sewing needles and—”_

_“Marinette!” Tikki squeaked in alarm, flying right up into her face while Nathaniel’s face paled. “That’s really unsafe, and there have been centuries of Ladybugs who didn’t have pierced ears. They just went through with magic!”_

_“Ah,” Marinette accepted, and there was a collective sigh of relief among the three while Marinette leaned back against the pillows. “That makes sense.”_

_“If that’s the case,” Nathaniel said, a wavering, somewhat uncertain smile on his face, “I guess… I could manage taking over for a while.”_

Even thinking about the conversation in a daydream caused him to sway in his wandering. The threat of falling was the only thing that kept him awake, and it was a startling wake-up call. 

He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat and leaned back against one of the buildings where he leaned his head back and covered his face with his hands, rubbing harshly at his eyes. He had at least three more hours of this nonsense and he was nowhere close to ready to deal with that. How much trouble would he be in if he just fell asleep right then and there? Was there any foreseeable consequence? He’d have to de-transform so the earrings didn’t get stolen in his sleep out in public, but it was definitely a possibility—

“Insistent on double-duty tonight, Bugatwo?” a voice from above called, one just close enough that he got startled out of his thoughts, jumped a bit, and looked up at the source of the voice. Up on the rooftop on the other side of the street from the one Nathaniel was leaning on was Chat Noir, cheekily grinning. 

Nathaniel squinted his eyes, confused, then used the yo-yo to grasp onto the chimney atop the building Chat stood on and landed up there with fluid ease. In just a week, he was proud of how quickly he’d gotten used to that. 

“But it’s my lone night shift tonight, isn’t it?” Nathaniel asked, and he realized how bleary and slurred his tone was with sleep and how hard it was to process simpler thoughts. “It’s… Thursday, right?” 

Chat nodded with an affirmative “mm-hmm” and a sharp nod of his head. “I cover night shift on Thursdays.”

Nathaniel could have passed out right then and there. “Seriously?”

“It’s alright, you’ll catch on soon enough.” Chat chuckled and winked. “I trust you can if Bugaboo does.” 

It took Chat the least amount of time out of anyone to figure out that Nathaniel wasn’t the actual Ladybug, but he also wasn’t a threat. The way that he fumbled with the yo-yo, seemed unsure of what to do or where to go, and needed a reminder of how to purify an akuma were probably the biggest hints. It took only for Nathaniel to admit in secret that he was “someone Ladybug trusted” and she’d be back in just a couple months, and that was enough to convince Chat. That was also enough for him to make up that “Bugatwo” nickname in less than five seconds and never let it go. 

“Someday,” Nathaniel sighed, and he dragged his hand down his face again in utter exhaustion. Chat seemed to see it at the closer distance as his smile faded and his expression turned concerned. He went on rambling, and he didn’t even care if his voice started to sound whiny along the way. “Even if it was my night, I’m so exhausted. Ladybug and I are the same age, and you probably are, too, so how do you even do it without _dying_ of exhaustion?”

Chat still gave him a sympathetic look, but this time there was a tiny smile to it. “Well, it’s not easy. Like I was saying earlier, you’re just getting started, so give yourself some slack.” He sat down on the ledge of the rooftop and patted the ground next to him, and Nathaniel accepted the invitation. 

“Back when I first started out,” Chat went on, wrapping his arm around Nathaniel’s shoulder, “I was just like you. I was sure I’d never feel rested again in my life, that one day I’d just pass out in the middle of whatever I was doing. My friends noticed, and they got concerned, too. But there’s little tricks to working around it. Cat naps every second I can get one, going to bed way too early on nights I don’t have night patrol… consistency’s actually the key to feeling rested, really.” 

Nathaniel huffed, and in his near-delirious state, he gladly accepted the affection and even nuzzled his head into the crook of Chat’s shoulder like he was a personal pillow. “That sounds so easy,” he mumbled with his eyes closed. “Consistent sleep. Never known a day of it in my life.”

He couldn’t see Chat’s face, but he felt his head gently bouncing with the way Chat’s body shook with a short laugh. “I know, easy for me to say. Never had insomnia a day of my life. Still, it’s something you learn. Things might get better. If not, I can take over when it gets harder.” 

“That wouldn’t be fair to you, though.” 

“Why not?” 

“You get tired, too, and we’re supposed to be a team. What kind of Ladybug substitute would I be if I just let you take over like that?” 

“Well, I don’t think you’d let that happen. I’ve seen what you’re like, and you’re more strong-willed than you think. I would have loved if I’d had someone to cover for me when I got too tired to function, and I’m offering to give that to you.” 

“Still…” Nathaniel continued to try excusing, but he yawned as more of his conscious coherence drifted away from him. He didn’t have any other qualms about it, so he sighed and slumped his whole body weight against Chat’s side. “Okay, I… guess s’fine…”

Chat gave a satisfied hum. “Good. These two months aren’t always gonna be that comfy for you, Bugatwo, so I just want to make sure you’re looked after. Bugaboo would want the same, right?” 

He didn’t get a response. At first he considered that perhaps the other didn’t hear him, but only slightly turning his head and looking down showed that he had fallen fast asleep. His face looked so much more relaxed asleep than he did during his drowsy rambling, and it warmed Chat’s heart. 

It was a difficult decision to figure out what he wanted to do from there. First and foremost, he wanted to let the substitute Ladybug stay asleep because it’s been god knows how long since he actually got some shut-eye. On the other, his shoulder was falling asleep very quickly and it would probably give out in a few minutes if he didn’t do anything about it. 

In a careful maneuver, he turned himself onto his back and slowly lowered the other on top of him for a comfortable resting position, as if Chat became a personal bed for the time being, and his chest was the pillow. Satisfied, he smiled and wrapped his arms around him.

* * *

The next time Nathaniel was conscious, he recognized, first of all, that his back was incredibly cold but his front was quite warm. Second, he wasn’t on his bed. Third, once he started to open his eyes, he wasn’t seeing the interior of his room, but a rooftop illuminated by only the moon and… there was someone underneath him.

The memories of what had happened some time before hit full-force, and his head shot up off Chat’s chest and tried to escape, only stopped by Chat’s grip around him. 

When Chat recognized that the substitute Ladybug had woken up and was struggling in his grip, however, he finally let go and looked up at him. “Good morning,” Chat greeted, teasing gently. “Did you have a nice nap? I was sure you were going to sleep longer. I don’t consider it a true cat nap unless it’s at least an hour long, so you’re probably gonna want to sleep more when you get home.” 

Nathaniel spluttered for a bit as he tried to get his conscious thoughts together and sat up entirely, scooting back up into a sitting position and not atop Chat. “What was I—? How long was I… sleeping for?”

“Twenty minutes, give or take, I think.” Chat sat up and stretched out his arms, then cracked his back. “Good thing, though, since you really needed it.”

Nathaniel was blushing furiously, and the mask did absolutely nothing to help it, so he had to pray that the limited light outside did. “I really didn’t mean to do that, I’m… _really_ sorry. I completely just distracted you from a good part of your night patrolling.” 

Chat waved a dismissing hand. “Pretty much nothing happens nights like these, I’m pretty sure not being totally attentive was okay this one time. Besides, you really needed sleep, and I was more than happy to watch over you, Bugatwo. You do need some more sleep if you want to be ready for anything that might happen tomorrow, so you should probably head on back to your place. I’ve got everything taken care of from here on out. Need me to walk you home or anything?” 

Given that Nathaniel had literally just woken up, he didn’t think much of the question and started to nod to the last question while rubbing at his eyes, but then stopped and looked back at Chat again. “Wait—no, no, even though I’m a substitute, you can’t know who I am. Ladybug warned me about that and I’m not about to break that promise.” 

Chat blinked a few times, then turned his face away. Did he just start blushing? “Oh, yeah. Bugaboo’s always getting on my case about that, of course she told you, too.” 

Nathaniel nodded, standing up and twirling the yo-yo, ready to twist it back around the lampshade from earlier to jump down. “Thank you, though, Chat. That helped more than anything I could’ve asked for.”

“Anything for you, Nath.” 

The yo-yo stopped abruptly, almost hitting Nathaniel right in the face, and his gaze snapped right back to Chat. “I’m sorry, what did you just s—?” 

“ _Bugatwo_ ,” Chat corrected himself quickly, but even then, he knew it was far too late. 

“You did _not_ say Bugatwo,” Nathaniel whispered. 

“Oh my god,” Chat murmured into his hands, completely ready to die right then and there.

The yo-yo became a twisted mess from its sudden stop earlier, and Nathaniel started trying to untangle it as he sat down with Chat. “I didn’t make myself too obvious, did I? Did I do something to reveal it that quickly? In a week?”

Chat took his head out of his hands. “Not at all! I just—it took me a second, but the hair’s… a little hard to miss. No one else knows, though! I swear, it’s just me who figured it out because I’ve learned strategies to try figuring out secret identities after all the akuma stuff.” 

Nathaniel let out a soft “oh” of understanding, sitting back down next to Chat. “Okay, I get it… so, you know who I am, I’m assuming you also know who actual Ladybug is? It makes it a little more obvious then, considering—” 

“Actually… no, I still don't know who she is,” Chat admitted quietly.

Nathaniel stared blankly at him. “Not at all? You’ve got to know me from school, so—you haven’t got any clues regarding recent events? Nothing about, say, a possible injury involving someone in our _entire school_ that could just _possibly_ cause someone to not be able to do any Miraculous activities for two months?” 

Chat pondered the thought deeply, then shrugged. “I’ve got nothing.” 

Nathaniel would have groaned in frustration, but then again, he still didn’t know who Chat was, so he couldn’t say a single word. “And yet you figured me out.” A disbelieving laugh escaped him while running a hand through his hair. “Okay. I’m… going home. Thanks again, really, Chat.”

“It really wasn’t a problem, Bugatwo. Until tomorrow, my sleeping beauty.” 

Nathaniel turned back to Chat again, and the sly cat gave another wink in his direction. And, for all he was worth, he could only hide his blushing by turning around and jumping off the building.

* * *

The next Friday, Nathaniel nearly screamed out loud when he greeted a sleep-deprived Adrien Agreste, who accidentally responded with “Good morning, Bugatwo.”


End file.
